A group of whale-watchers in Quebec recently had an unforgettable encounter with a giant whale that apparently wanted to pose for some close-up photos. What happened was captured in the 30-second video above.
Instagram just took a page from Snapchat's book by announcing Instagram Stories, a new feature that lets you share temporary slideshows with multiple photos and videos.
In today’s digital age, a budding photographer would find it hard to believe that physical mailers would be an important aspect of their marketing strategy. The reality is not only are they important but they are also essential.
Since launching in 2010 and being acquired two years later by Facebook for $1 billion with just 13 employees, Instagram has followed a meteoric path toward social media superstardom. Just 4 years after the sale, Instagram's co-founder and CEO Kevin Systrom is now a billionaire.
The Fuji X100T is yesterday’s news for most of you, I know. Mirrorless cameras represent the latest stage in the rapid evolution of the tools and technologies we use to make pictures– look no further than the tantalizing new Hasselblad X1D if you need proof of where things are going.
It looks like Canon is working on something... different. A leaked spec sheet shows the Japanese camera giant may soon release a "W-E1" Wi-Fi adapter that fits inside your camera's SD card slot.
You might think you know Photoshop through and through, but even if you've been using the photo editor for ages, you still may learn a little something from this tutorial by Nathaniel Dodson over at Tutvid.
Photographer Justin Olsen of Salt Lake City, Utah, recently visited a mountain biking trail at night with Cody Kelley, the world's 39th ranked rider. While Kelley did runs and jumps, Olsen shot video entirely by moonlight using the Sony a7S II. The 1-minute Red Bull video above is what resulted.
Using only 12 photos and the impressive new Platograph Pro software we told you about on Friday, photographer Ron Risman was able to create what he's calling a "pseudo timelapse." 12 photos, 12 'moving' sequences.
The Internet has become the wild wild west of copyright infringement, and the fact that so many photos are illegally republished around without permission and/or attribution makes enforcement tough for the photographers behind them. If you've ever shared your images on the Web, there's one big-name place they could show up for sale without your permission: Amazon.com.
We're not sure if the new Nikon W100 is waterproof and shockproof because it's a standard "tough" camera, or because its target audience is fun-loving 8-year-olds. Whatever the case, Nikon's newest "rugged" cam was definitely designed with the whole family in mind.
In 2013, I made by far my most amazing thrift store find. In the Good Samaritan shop in my hometown Roanoke, Virginia, I discovered several rolls of old nitrate negatives. The following day I had the negatives digitized and discovered the rolls contained a considerable trove of nearly 400 images, the majority of which had been shot in Italy about 80 years ago.
Sony's sgnl YouTube channel published this 5-minute teardown video that offers a look at the guts of the company's high-end 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master lens, which retails for $2,200.
I’m a professional full-time photographer and I choose to let people download and use 95% of my images (even commercially), here’s why.
NFL football star DeAngelo Williams is a huge fan of the TV show "The Walking Dead." Just how big? Well, he and his bride recently decided to do an elaborate zombie-themed wedding photo shoot that involved professional makeup and the entire wedding party.
A high-quality, tiny, ultra-wide angle lens with almost zero distortion... that's what Venus is promising with the full-frame Laowa 12mm f/2.8 ZERO-D. And they've already raised over a quarter of a million dollars from people who believe they will deliver.
Getting started with Magic Lantern can be a bit daunting for a beginner. That's why computer science student and filmmaker Jake Coppinger put together this easy-to-follow step-by-step video guide that shows you how to (safely) install and use the powerful software add-on.
Samyang just dropped a high-speed bokeh bomb on the mirrorless APS-C market. So if you think your manual focus skills can keep up, meet the brand-new, ultra-fast Samyang 35mm f/1.2 ED AS UMC CS.
Episode 94 of the PetaPixel Photography Podcast.
Download MP3 - Subscribe via iTunes, Google Play, email or RSS!
Featured: Photographer and Plotagraph Pro creator, Troy Plota
Instagram is preparing a big release. According to a report by The Washington Post, the photo sharing app will soon let users moderate the comments on their photos, or even turn off the ability to comment altogether.
Virgina-based photographer Ray Reynolds thinks there are consequences to covering one of (if not the) most controversial public figures in the world. He says that ever since he began photographing Republican nominee Donald Trump professionally, the rest of his business has completely dried up.
Printing a hologram usually involves some sort of special materials or lenses, but a company called Lumii has invented a way to do it with a regular old Epson inkjet printer! The resulting 'lightfield prints' look for all the world like 3D, full-color holograms.
It's time for a long overdue post. Looking back through my archives, I realized that I've covered topics like film selections and scanning film but to date I've skipped one really important part: metering and exposing color film.
Plotagraph Pro is an incredible new photography tool that can take any still image and animate it into a beautiful looping GIF or video file. No need to shoot a video or capture multiple frames, a single JPEG is all this Web-app needs.
Photographer Carol M. Highsmith rocked the copyright world this week when it was revealed she was suing Getty Images for a whopping $1 Billion over what she called "gross misuse" of 18,755 of her photographs documenting America. Today, Getty finally replied publicly to these charges.
What's the biggest surprise you've gotten while you were out shooting? For astrophotographer Ian Norman, Wednesday night's massive 'fireball' that streaked across the sky while he was out taking Milky Way pictures tops the list. (Warning: Strong language.)
Here's a little something that's bound to put a smile on your face before you head off into the weekend. It's a new series of dog portraits called Hairy, and they're some of the most adorable before-and-after shots you've ever seen.
“Hey, don’t take our picture!” a young woman yelled out from her group to me a few days ago. I told her I didn’t take their photo—and it was true, I was just facing them playing Pokémon Go on my phone as many others were also doing in the park that day. But, often I am doing just that.
Computers are changing photography in a big way—from colorizing black and white photos automatically, to telling how memorable your photos are. And now, a new imaging technology can change the apparent focal length of a photo, making it look like a wide-angle selfie was taken from further way with a portrait lens.
Funny photos are nice, but nothing beats funny photos for a great cause. Australian radiologist Mark Udovitch is helping to raise awareness and funds for cancer patients, and he's doing it by recreating popular celebrity photos in hilarious fashion using his soon-to-be-donated hair.
In January 2016 I launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to get my first book, Animal Soul, printed. Here I will share ten things I learned that could perhaps be valuable for those wanting to follow this path.
It's summertime and everyone is on the move all across the globe. One thing we want to hang on to is our vacation photos. They're what we share with all our friends on social media and the one thing we hold on to for the rest of our lives. Here is how I took a boring vacation photo and turned it into a unique and memorable image.
The Science Channel on YouTube just released a really neat video in which they show you the inner workings of a $50K cinema lens. A piece of technology they call, "the perfect combo of modern technology and old fashioned craftsmanship."
Newspapers across the country are under fire today because of the photos they ran on their front pages yesterday. The papers were illustrating the historic news that Hillary Clinton had won the Democratic nomination for president; but instead of leading with a photo of the candidate, many used photos of her husband.
On the first day of the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, attendees were asked to pose for an official photo. The video above shows how that photo was captured by photographer Abbas Shirmohammadi using a 100-year-old camera.
Here's a really neat trick you'll want to add to your photo editing tool chest. When you're wanting to add a specific texture to some background, you can simply use flour and the "Multiply" blending mode to create any texture you like.
It's commonly said that a camera adds 10 pounds, making you look heavier than you actually are. Here's a striking animated GIF that shows how much the focal length of a lens affects your apparent weight in a portrait.
"It's not the camera, it's the photographer." We (and probably you) hear this particular phrase ad nauseam, but once in a while we run across a set of photos that say the same thing without having to utter a word. These gorgeous watch photos definitely qualify.
If you shoot portraits and you're not sure if you should upgrade from the APS-C system you're using to that full-frame body you're coveting, read this first. Photographer Manny Ortiz gives you a side-by-side comparison between the APS-C Sony a6000 and the full frame Sony a7 II for portrait photography so you can see the difference for yourself.
After an earlier leak, Nikon yesterday officially announced its new 105mm f/1.4 lens, the world's fastest 105mm lens. The ultra-fast portrait lens is designed for beautiful bokeh, and here sample photos that show that.
Photographer Mik Milman is an event and creative portrait photographer. Dog Brixton Milman is a dog. Together, they've captured the heartwarming connection between a man and his dog (or is it a dog and his man?) in the series Us: Mik and Brix Doing Things.
File this rumor in the "odd-but-plausible" folder. According to a "retail source," Canon is planning to put a 30MP sensor in the Canon 5D Mark IV. Not 20, 22, or 24... 30MP.
Episode 93 of the PetaPixel Photography Podcast.
Download MP3 - Subscribe via iTunes, Google Play, email or RSS!
Featured: Travel and landscape photographer, Peter Flindell
Renowned photographer Carol M. Highsmith is reportedly suing Getty Images for $1 billion, claiming that the stock photo company committed copyright infringement through the "gross misuse" of 18,755 of her photographs documenting America.
I've been a street photographer for a while now, and I would like to share what I believe are 3 popular misconceptions about street photography -- things I've seen pop up over and over.
Photographer Matt Sprouse of Greenwood, South Carolina, shot this clever parody of those popular water hair flip photos that typically feature girls with long hair (rather than guys with long beards).
Microsoft today launched Microsoft Pix, a new smart camera app for the iPhone that uses artificial intelligence features to help you shoot better photos.
Capturing beautiful macro photos on the cheap isn't tough if you're willing to experiment a little bit. Amateur photographer Benjamin Weir was able to do it with just a smartphone and a lens element he tore out of a dead point-and-shoot camera.
For the second time in as many months somebody has tried to use my images to lie to models about their photography. Because of this deception, it's certainly no giant leap to accuse these individuals of ill intent, especially if they are actively lying to models in their first messages of contact.
Here's a fun little video to help you get over hump day and on to the second half of the week. A weather camera at the top of a tower in Nebraska got an unexpected visit from a curious hawk this week.
